The Power of Being Thankful: 365 Devotions for Discovering the Strength of Gratitude (57 page)

As you go through your day, ask the Lord to make His face shine upon you. Ask Him to lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Ask Him to shine His glory upon you, as He did with Moses. Then let that light so shine before others that they may see it and glorify your heavenly Father (see Matthew 5:16 KJV).

Letting your light shine can be as simple as putting a smile on your face. Practice smiling at others and you will find most of them smiling back. The light of God’s glory is in you, but if you never show it outwardly, people won’t be blessed. It is amazing what will happen if you will just be thankful, smile, and be nice to people. Show favor as often as you can to as many as you can. By so doing, you will receive favor, because we are told that whatever we sow is what we will reap (see Galatians 6:7).

I thank You, Father, for the opportunity I have to be a light in a dark world. Let Your light and Your life shine through me for others to see. I am grateful that with Your help, my life can be a blessing to others.

As human beings, we all struggle with selfishness and ingratitude. We can pray and believe God for something, and even be very thankful and grateful for it when we receive it. But it doesn’t take us very long until we are no longer thankful and grateful for them, but actually come to think we are entitled to them.

If we aren’t careful, we can even develop a demanding attitude in our relationship with the Lord. We can become upset and aggravated when the Lord doesn’t give us everything we think we are entitled to. As His children, we do have an inheritance, but a humble attitude is necessary to receive it. A humble attitude pleases God and will keep our hearts grateful for every blessing we receive.

Father, I am so thankful for Your work in my life. Please help me to keep a humble attitude, never demanding Your goodness. Thank You that You pour out Your favor in my life, not because I’ve earned it, but simply because You love me and You want to bless me.

Sometimes we expect
nothing
; we merely wait to see what happens and
nothing
does because we have been expecting
nothing.
At other times, we may fall into the trap of expecting to be disappointed because we have been disappointed time and time again in the past, so we are afraid to hope for anything. However, God wants us to have a faith-filled expectation of His goodness, because He can do exceedingly, abundantly above all that dare to ask or think (see Ephesians 3:20).

Developing a very thankful attitude for God’s present goodness in your life will open the door for God to do even more. Let Him know that you expect to see His goodness in your life, not because you deserve it, but because He is good!

The Bible teaches us that God is waiting to bless people, but He is looking for someone who is expecting and believing for His favor (see Isaiah 30:18).

I thank You today, Father, that You promise in Your Word that You love me and You have a great plan for my life. I am grateful for Your abundant provision, and I stand in faith waiting with a positive expectation of Your goodness.

Peace with God is maintained by never attempting to hide sin. Because hiding sin just causes condemnation and guilt, and neither of those are productive in any way. God knows everything anyway, so it is useless to think we can hide anything from Him. When we make mistakes, we shouldn’t withdraw from God, but we should come near to Him, thankful that He promises to restore us.

To repent means to turn away from sin and return to the highest place. God is not surprised by our weaknesses and failures. Actually, He knew about the mistakes we would make before we made them. All we need to do is admit them because He is faithful to forgive us continually from all sin (see 1 John 1:9). God is waiting for you with open and outstretched arms—always run to Him!

I am grateful, Father, that You forgive my sins and You bring healing and restoration into my life. I choose to reject the condemnation of the enemy and come to You when I sin and fall short. Thank You that You forgive me and love me through it all.

We may not always get things our way in life, but we can trust that God’s way is better. God is a good God, and He said that He has good things planned for His children: “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome” (Jeremiah 29:11).

We do not have to be afraid of harm, because God is not an angry judge; He is not mean. He is good. We can rejoice with thanksgiving, knowing that everything good in life comes from God. He wants us to trust Him, and when we take a step of faith to do so, we will see the goodness of God manifested in our lives. The more we surrender, the better life becomes.

Father, when I find myself disappointed by my circumstances, help me to remember that You are in control. I thank You that Your plan for my life is so much better than my own plan. I trust You and Your direction for my life.